The Adventures of Eluare
by Lelania
Summary: The adventures of my half elven character, whose naiveness is getting her into more and more trouble. Will she be able to survive the trouble she's gotten into this time?
1. Chapter 1

My name is Eluare Amastacia. I am a 22 year old half-elf and for the last week or so have been off on multiple quests with the Elven Prince, Valandil, my childhood half-elven friend Marius (who ran away at 13), and Rowe a human with a Nightmare for a familiar.

My father, an Elven Duke named Enorë Amastacia raised me, as my mother died in childbirth. About a year after my mother's death father remarried an elven woman named Felosial Surion. She already had a son and was widowed when she came into our family. My step-brother, Celahir, just recently came back into my life after being cast out from the elven society six years ago.

I have two younger brothers who are full elf and at 17 are still considered babies. All of my brothers are protective of me, being the only female sibling, and because I am half human, which makes me weak in their eyes.

I was apprenticed to Lurnaäe Cuqueltoia (also known as Hierophant Graywind) when I was seventeen. For the last five years he has taught me the ways of the Druid.

Now that you have a bit of my history, let me start from the beginning when Val and Marius were brought forth into my life again.

As Lurnaäe and I approached the tavern I saw four others walking towards it as well. One of the men looked very familiar. He had a black cloth tied around his head. As far as I could tell he was human. He had black hair braided halfway down his back. His facial hair was neat and trim. As we drew closer I noticed he was about my height. The man next to him had brown hair and seemed easily forgettable. His hair hung loosely about his shoulders.

Several yards behind the humans were two elves. The taller of the two had dark blonde hair hanging about his shoulders. He looked to be about mid-twenties (going by human years). The man beside him looked like a boy as he was a least a foot shorter. However, I know better, having been raised among elves. He was adult, and I would guess him to be around 100 as well. His hair was almost white and hung in a braid that went to mid-calf.

My master and I came last and walked slowly, reveling in the earth under our feet. When we finally entered the tavern we headed towards the table where the other four men were. Three were seated, but the black-haired man still stood.

Lurnaäe and I sat in two of the three empty seats, and the brown-haired human motioned the other to sit. I glanced at him closely for several minutes and it dawned on me why he looked so familiar.

"Mariusselus?" I said looking to the black-haired human. The way his eyes shifted told me I'd hit the mark. I'd known him since childhood and had befriended him since we had both been born half-elves to dukes. He had run away five years ago, just after I started my apprenticeship. He'd been thirteen at the time. I said nothing more as my master spoke just then.

"Sirvla, how have you been?" he said to the human with brown hair.

"Well, and yourself Hierophant Graywind?"

"Wonderfully."

"Redwind, you're looking well," Sirvla said glancing at the taller of the two elves.

"This is my apprentice, Valandil," the tall elf replied pointing to the other elf.

"My apprentice, Eluare, should make a fine addition to this group," said my master gesturing toward me. The others glanced at me, Redwind's gaze lingering a bit longer then I would have liked.

"This is Marius; he should be able to look after the group."

Sirvla pulled out a satchel and placed it on the table. It looked like a rather old bag.

"This is the delivery that needs to be made. You will meet the fourth member of your party in one and a half days, just outside the next town. Together you will deliver this satchel. I will warn you once, do not use it. If you need to use it, it may already be too late."

As our conversation ended a serving woman brought over several plates of food. There were assorted meats, fruits and vegetables. Master and I took small portions of the meat and vegetables. The two elves didn't touch the meat, while the humans ate an unimaginable amount of food.

After our meal our masters warned us not to stay awake too late and retired to a corner of the room for private conversation. Valandil started playing his flute, and I joined in with my fife. Marius began storytelling. I glanced over at our master's every so often and saw the impressed look upon their faces.

After a couple of hours I put my fife away and made ready to head upstairs to my night's lodging. Marius and Valandil stayed downstairs when I headed up to my room.

I woke at dawn the next day and dressed in my traveler's outfit and headed downstairs with my things. Valandil and Marius were already there speaking with our masters. As I approached the table, the smell of eggs reached my nose. My stomach rumbled in response.

I sat and took a small plate of food; just enough to fill me. As I ate, the man named Redwind informed us that horses had been rented for our journey and we were to depart immediately after breakfast.

Our morning passed rather quickly and before I knew it Val, Marius and I stopped for lunch. We refilled our waterskins, fed and watered the horses and continued on our way for an uneventful afternoon.

At dusk we came upon a clearing along the road and Marius pointed out that it would be a good place to camp for the night. After getting the horses settled for the night, I called to my eagle, Aronu, and fed her some dried meat from my pack.

Marius set snares for the night to trap what food we could. Val gathered firewood and we gathered around the fire as night fell to eat from our rations.

Marius took first watch while Val and I slept and meditated, respectively. Val took second watch and I had third, but the night passed without incident. Around dawn, my eagle sensed danger. There was something coming from the east, something really big.

"Get ready to fight," I said to Val and Marius, "something's coming." I pulled out my short bow and quiver. I notched an arrow onto the bow string and we heard one of the snares snap shut, followed by the growling and whining of some type of canine.

The three of us went to see what the snare had captured, and as we came around the edge of the trees we saw not one, but three dire wolves. One was trapped in the snare. The other two didn't take long to notice us and advanced.

I loosed several arrows and missed the wolf advancing on me. Not missing a beat, I dropped the bow and pulled out my quarterstaff. After several strong hits, I managed to kill the wolf that was attacking me.

Val killed the one caught in the snare, and together we shoved aside the one that Marius had killed from beneath. We spent the morning skinning the now dead animals and boiling the meat. I made sure to gather the claws and teeth, as we would be able to sell those later on.

Val made sure to gather our short bows and clean them of dirt as best he could. We refilled the waterskins once more and I fed several chunks of the wolf meat to Aronu. Next, I made sure my horse, Widow Maker, had drunk enough to fill her. I stroked her white and tan neck as I leaned against her.

At mid-day we departed. I had skinned the pelts as best I could in such a short time. I knew they would fetch fairly good prices. We road in silence throughout the afternoon, and I'm sure I made an odd picture glancing toward the sky every so often for Aronu.

She kept watch far above our heads, looking out for any danger that might approach us. Luckily, the afternoon passed without any excitement, except that of Aronu when she spotted a dire rat.

Just before sunset we came upon a human, his horse was massive, and all black. He looked to be in his early twenties. I heard Val let out soft gasp as we drew closer to the human.

"A Nightmare," he said, barely loud enough to be heard. Now that I looked closer at the horse, I saw its mane and tail were flames. That was a Nightmare alright. The horses felt uncomfortable, they knew the black horse before us wasn't right.

The man rode toward us and raised his arm in greeting. The three of us reined in our horses and stopped.

"I am Rowe," the new arrival said, "I've been expecting you."

I spoke to our three horses and explained to them what the other animal was and that it would not harm them. I did notice the odd looks I received from the now three party members. The nightmare glanced inquiringly at me as well.

"You speak to animals," Rowe said in a curious tone.

"I do," I said in reply.

"You should be more careful about doing it in others' presence." With that he turned his steed and rode in the direction of the town. We all followed suit, and within ten minutes were upon the town. It was a fairly decent-sized place; it looked to be a trading town.

Rowe led us towards a tavern and as we approached a young stable boy came out to tend to our mounts. Val, Marius and I dismounted and handed over our horses reins, while Rowe accompanied the boy to the stable.

We went into the inn and claimed a table in the corner. Marius and I asked Val to sit and wait while we went to try and trade the dire wolf pelts. I found out when we arrived that Marius was well versed in trading, it was almost like a foreign language to me. Marius also had a dear and two rabbit pelts from some of the other snares he'd set.

The trader had a queer look on his face when he saw the pelt of the wolf Marius had killed. It was all zigzagged from where he'd moved his blade in search of the beast's heart.

"Have you got the teeth and claws of the wolves?" He questioned Marius.

"I do," I replied. Being a Druid, I wasted nothing. I gladly handed over the items to the trader as he assessed their worth. In the end, we got a good price for them and headed back to the tavern, my pack much lighter now.

Val and Rowe had ordered food while we had been gone, so Marius and I sat and dined with them. Again, Marius put away an excessive amount of food. I had no idea how he managed to eat so much at once. I ate only until I was sated.

"Are you trying to get us all hung?" Rowe said to Val.

"Why?" I said questioningly, "He's not harming anyone." Marius turned and looked at me.

"We have a little prince on our hands." My jaw dropped when the weight of his words hit me. The elven prince who had escaped five years ago was among our group. That could be bad, should we be found out.

The tavern was fairly quiet so Val and I decided to provide some entertainment. I pulled out my fife and began playing tunes, while Val played on his flute. After an hour or so we had made a few copper and silver pieces from appreciative patrons.

The patrons slowly began to trickle out as the night grew older. Finally the common room was empty and the four of us were able to sleep on our bedrolls. Well, except for Val, he didn't have a bedroll and opted for the floor instead of the flea-infested mattresses they tossed onto the floor.

We all slept easy that night and awoke before sunrise when the serving girls came to take the mattresses and put the tables back. We packed up our bedrolls and ate the breakfast provided. Just after daybreak we departed from the inn.

We stopped at mid-day for a short lunch and I had a dire rat dropped at my feet by Aronu. I skinned it and carved up ¼ of it and fed it to her. I wrapped up the rest of the rat meat in the skin to dry later on.

We ate quickly and got back on the road. Rowe was pressing us to make the next town by nightfall. Mid-way through the afternoon we spotted smoke over the trees, immediately Rowe's Nightmare went into a gallop. We all urged our horses to go faster. As we got closer to the smoke, we saw the buildings burning. There was a group of goblins standing there. They charged us. I jumped off my horse and pulled out my quarterstaff. We fought off the goblins and killed them all. Rowe didn't wait for us, he ran straight for the tower that was engulfed in flames.

"MASTER!!" He screamed running forward. A handful of hobgoblins emerged just as he and Marius neared the building. Val was right behind them and I was running to catch up.

Suddenly, Val dropped in front of me, a javelin sticking out of his chest. I swung my quarterstaff and knocked down the hobgoblin before it had time to finish off Val. Out of nowhere something rammed into my stomach and everything went black.

The next thing I knew, I awoke to Marius standing over me, healing me with a healing potion. As soon as he saw I was awake, he turned and ran into the building followed by Marius. Val and I weren't far behind. We dodged burning wood as we went up the stairs.

We reached a landing and saw Rowe standing over a man on the ground. Without thinking Marius and I both whipped out our healing potions and poured them down the man's throat. It was enough to bring him back to consciousness.

"Come on master," Rowe said trying to lift the man.

"Stop."

"But Master, we need to get you out of here. The tower is burning."

"I have enough strength." He went quiet for several minutes as the flames doused themselves.

"Do you still have the satchel?" the half-dead man asked.

"Yes, master."

"Use it."

"But we wer…" Marius said, but before he could finish he was cut off by the man on the floor.

"Use it. Now you must leave." Marius turned his back to us as he went digging for the satchel, but when he turned around he had a double-bladed axe in his hands.

"No master."

"I am bound to this town, thus I cannot leave; leave me here and go now."

Marius, Val and I ran from the room. I heard Rowe's footsteps behind us. We emerged into the sunlight and jogged to the horses. We quickly mounted and left. We slowed as we got further from the town, still going at a trot.

"Holy gods," I heard Marius exclaim. I slowed my horse and glanced back to see if everything was alright. Before I could say anything, I saw that the tower was no longer there. It had disappeared.

"Come on, we need to get some distance between us before nightfall." None of us replied to Rowe, we just followed.

As night started to fall, we stopped and started to make camp. Aronu flew down to me looking for her evening meal. I gladly gave her some of the rabbit meat we had. Rowe prepared a fire, and I started to boil the rest of the dried rabbit meat.

We ate in silence and made ready for sleeping. Marius took first watch; he woke me after a few hours to take my turn. I had Aronu circle around the camp, keeping her eyes open for anything that might prove a danger to us. After an hour or so, I felt her tense as something approached from the east. I ran to wake my party members.

"Something is approaching us, and I sense it's not friendly. Get up and prepare your weapons."

Just as Val grabbed his bow, three Wargs crashed through the trees, coming right for us. Marius swung his axe and took off the head of one. Suddenly lightning flashed from the axe. Val just stood there in disbelief as I watched Rowe kill a second of the Wargs. The third one charged right towards me, but a few swings from my trusty quarterstaff and that one was dead as well.

We agreed to leave the Wargs as an offering to Correllean for allowing us to live another day. Mostly because the Warg hides would not have brought in any money, and the meat was inedible.

The rest of the night passed uneventful and at dawn we rose and broke camp. We ate as we rode back to the town we had just left yesterday. We were very weary near the end of the afternoon when we arrived at the town.


	2. Chapter 2

We secured lodging at the same inn as two nights ago. Marius took Val and me with him to change some of our gold into gems. I allowed Marius to take care of the transaction for me since I was fairly ignorant of such matters and because Marius was very friendly with the man.

I ended up with a very nice rose quartz that was worth 7 platinum, 5 gold. Marius got several gems; I didn't pay much attention to what they were. Our trip back to the inn went uneventful. Marius and I entered the inn and wandered to the table where Rowe sat alone. Val went off to only Correllean knows where.

We ordered food, and made sure there would be some things that didn't contain meat for when Val came back. He joined us after about 20 minutes and once we had finished dining Val got up and began to dance, rather well, while I played on my fife and Marius told a story. It was all I could do not to laugh, however, when I saw Marius slip some marbles onto the floor beneath Val's feet.

Val went back to the table after that, while I played one more song, and then I joined the group at our table. Out of nowhere, this massive woman approached our table and sat herself at the one empty chair. She handed a mug of something to Valandil. The woman had blonde, shaggy hair, and was easily six feet tall. She had the build of a warrior. Marius and I shot amused looks at each other.

"Hi cutie," she said looking toward Val. Her voice was somewhat husky, but it was all feminine. He glanced back with disinterest.

"Can I help you?"

"I hope you don't mind, I took the liberty of buying you a drink." Val sniffed at the beverage, and his eyes lit up for a moment, before becoming serene again.

"Elven wine? This does not come cheap."

"Well, a good looking elf deserves a good elf wine." Marius, Rowe and I were highly amused now. This poor woman had no idea what she was trying to do would never work on Val.

"Dear, I'm not into women."

"Did I ask if you were into women? I just bought you a drink, and I'll be really offended if you don't drink it," She had a point. Val took a few gulps of the wine and a look of thoughtfulness came across his angled face. He drained half of the cup and after a few minutes he started to sway slightly.

"Guess he's a bit of a light-weight, huh?" The woman said looking to Marius with delight. She stood up and tossed Val over her shoulder and headed for the stairs, before Marius stepped forward.

"Where do you think you're going with him?"

"Upstairs."

"Alright," Marius replied and came back to the table and joined us. Marius and I took turns keeping a watch at the bedroom door, lest anyone should seek to harm our elven companion.

During my watch, I heard a lot of loud bangs and groans coming from inside the room. Staying awake was no problem with all the noise on the other side of the door. Marius came back up at dawn to check on me. As we stood there talking, the woman emerged from the room. She handed a small pouch of coins to Marius.

"That should pay for any damages, and will you let him know my name is Alana of the Hawk clan?"

"Sure we can." As she walked away, Marius and I turned and went into the room. The dresser was broken, as was the bed, and Val was laying there completely naked. I quickly turned around, my face becoming red.

"You can look now, Eluare." I glanced back over and saw that Marius had covered Val with the blanket.

"Holy hell, what happened here," I heard Rowe exclaim from behind me. I just shook my head because I had no idea. Val stirred and woke, groaning. It sounded like he was in a bit of pain this morning.

"I'll meet you all downstairs," I said, as I quickly turned and walked from the room, not wanting to see Val naked again. I claimed a table in the corner and asked for several plates of food. I ate slowly as I waited for the other three to join me. They came down about fifteen minutes after me.

Val was clothed now, but he had a few bruises on his body. I wasn't sure I wanted to know what had happened in that room last night. From the look of Val, it had been painful. He sat tenderly, just as the serving girl brought the rest of our food.

"You idiots," Val said through clenched teeth, "She branded me!" I just looked at him with shock. Marius reached over and closed my mouth.

"She wanted you to know that her name is Alana of the Hawk clan," Marius said.

"What?" Val exclaimed, "You let a barbarian woman take me upstairs!"

"We had no idea she was a barbarian Val."

"You all suck!" I just sat there in disbelief. I had no idea that barbarians actually existed, I'd always thought they were just stories the elder's told us to make us remember our place!

No one said another word throughout breakfast, and we set off after about an hour, after Marius paid for the damages and gave the rest of the money to Val. I called to Aronu after I mounted, and she landed on the saddle in front of me. I fed her some of the meat I'd saved from breakfast as we rode.

When she'd eaten her fill, she again took to the skies to guard us. The morning passed all too quickly, and soon we stopped for our midday meal. We sat in companionable silence while eating and did our best to leave no traces. As we went on Val rode up beside me.

"Is there any way you can get an animal to look for the barbarians?"

"I could try Val. Give me a minute." I slowed my horse and used my empathy skills to sense what animals were near by, and found that there were two ravens. I started speaking to them through my spell work.

_Can you understand me Ravens?_

_We can_, they replied coming out from the trees.

_Will you help my friend with something? I will give you food and a coin each._

_Sure we can help, what do you need?_

I described the barbarian woman to them. _Can you look for her and return to us at nightfall?_

_We will_. They took off into the skies.

"It is done, Val."

"Thank you." We continued on the road toward where we'd been told we could find the barbarian camp.

Our afternoon passed just as quickly and before long it was time to make camp for the night. Val went off to gather firewood, and Rowe tended the horses. I started a fire and began to prepare some of the dried meat I still had in my pack. Marius added several vegetables and before long my stomach was growling.

Just as I handed bowls of the stew to everyone, the Ravens returned. I attempted to speak with them, but my spell would not work. My only other option was to see if there were any woodland creatures around. I spoke in Sylvan, that language of the woodlands.

_Is there anyone around that would be willing to help a young druid?_ Marius and Val had odd looks on their faces as I said this, and they both took off through the woods.

"Where are they going?" I asked Rowe. He just shrugged. We heard them coming back towards us several minutes later. They came through the trees leading a Satyr. The meat I had been holding out to Aronu fell to the ground, and she nipped at my fingers before picking it up. The Satyr was gorgeous as I stared in amazement.

"Which of you is the druid?" Rowe pointed to me. "So druid, what is your problem?"

"My spell will not work, and so I cannot get the information from the Ravens that I asked them for." The Satyr glanced back and forth between the Ravens and me for a couple of minutes, and then I noticed the Ravens hung their heads and looked towards me.

"We did not find the woman you described," on of them said in Common.

"Did you come across any barbarians?"

"You only asked us to look for the one, and that is what we did."

"Very well, thank you for your help." I tossed them each several chunks of meat and held out one silver piece in each hand. The Ravens took the silver pieces greedily after gobbling down their meal. Without any goodbye, they flew off into the trees.

I looked back to our new guest, and I could swear he looked even more stunning then several minutes ago.

"Care to join us for dinner?" Marius asked the Satyr.

"I would love to, would any of you care for a drink?" Marius and Rowe declined. Val and I, however, accepted. The Satyr poured our cups full from a bottle he'd had in his pack. I tasted the wine, and it was delicious. It almost reminded me of elven wine, but with a few variations. I drank the first cup slowly, savoring each sip, as the night grew darker all around us.

Eventually, Marius went off to take first watch, and Rowe took his bedroll behind a clump of trees. Val had fallen asleep shortly after he finished his cup of the wine.

"Care for some more, dear?"

"I would love some, thank you," I said with a smile. The Satyr refilled my cup and then capped the bottle. I gulped the second cup much faster then the first, and the next thing I knew I was having this wonderful dream of the Satyr and myself.

He held me up to a tree and did so many wonderful things that I couldn't help the soft moaning that came from my mouth. It was the most glorious dream I'd ever had. His hands roamed my body and my clothes seemed to just melt away. His mouth tasted and teased me in a thousand different ways as his hands explored every curve of me.

I did not want the dream to end, but as all dreams must, eventually this one did as well. I don't remember getting into my bedroll, but when I opened my eyes the sun shone right into them, and oh how it hurt! I moaned from the pain coursing through my head.

"Ellie," I heard Marius say, "Come on, you need to wake up."

"What the hell did I do last night," I asked without opening my eyes.

"You know the sounds you hear the working girls make when they're with clients?"

"Yeah, what about them?"

"You were making those noises last night," Marius said, imitating the moans that had escaped me in my dream.

"But I didn't do anything like the working girls do, though I did have the most wonderful dream of that Satyr." I felt an arm pull me up to a sitting position.

"Open your eyes, Ellie," came Rowe's voice. It had a kindness to it this morning, which was unusual. I opened my eyes, blinking several times as I adjusted to the bright sunlight.

"Ow, my head." It was pounding. I felt like I'd been hit by something very heavy.

"It's just the hangover," Rowe said, pushing a cup of some warm beverage into my hands, "drink this, it will help." I took a small sip, expecting it to scald, but it didn't. It was actually pretty good.

"What is this?"

"It's kava."

"It's good." Rowe sat beside me to make sure I drank it all as Marius and Val packed up camp. While they continued cleaning the dishes and other various chores I decided to meditate. I wanted to speak with Correllean and find out if I might possibly become pregnant if Marius had spoken true about my night with the Satyr.

My meditation started out calm and peaceful. I was in a grove of trees that I had grown up near in the elven kingdom, but without any warning, everything turned to darkness. Out of the darkness came a circle of flames surrounding me. I saw an eye and arm emerge from nowhere.

_Who dares to summon me?_

_You are not Correllean._

_Oh, so the druid learns quickly._ The voice sneered.

_Who are you?_

_I am Vecna. What answers do you seek druid? _

_I just wanted to know if the Satyr had impregnated me._ The hand reached out towards me and went right through my abdomen. The pain was terrible as I tried to cry out. No sound would come from me. The hand withdrew after what seemed like an eternity.

_You are clean, if that's what you were worried about._ With that, Vecna disappeared and I came out of the meditation. Marius forced some liquid down my throat as I lay on the ground shaking from fright, pain, and the despair I now felt.

"Get a blanket, she's freezing." I don't know whose voice it was that spoke. All I could focus on was the great despondency deep in the pit of my stomach. Someone helped me to my feet and held me steady while I felt a blanket get wrapped around my shoulders.

I was led over to my horse and helped onto her back. Val brought his horse next to mine and tied the reins to his saddle. I didn't complain, as I didn't even know if I'd be able to hold them I was shaking so badly. I leaned forward and held onto Widow Maker's mane with my head laid against her.

The morning dragged slowly on, and at some point we began to notice we were being followed by bears, with riders. Not knowing who they were, and being afraid to ask the riders, I spoke to one of the bears behind us.

_Who are you and why are you following us?_

_We are of the bear clan, and were told to look for the group with the Eagle flying above._

Marius looked over at me with a queer look, and I guess he thought he was being funny because suddenly he said in bear _bucket, green, oil, tree, beer_. I just shook my head at him, confused.

"Who DARES to speak to my mount?" I heard the booming voice behind us. Val, Marius, and Rowe all pointed to me.

"Thanks guys," I mumbled, "Forgive me; it was I that spoke to your mount."

"Why do address my bear and not the one riding him?"

"I was not sure if you were friendly or not, and you've been following us a while. I just wanted to know if you would harm us." I still could not shake the feeling of despair flowing through me.

"Next time, why don't you just ask the rider?"

I did not reply and felt thoroughly embarrassed.


	3. Chapter 3

When we arrived at the Barbarian's camp, I was helped from my horse. As soon as Marius let go, I collapsed. I couldn't stand up again, I was shaking too badly. Tears fell from my eyes as I felt like there would never be happiness in my life again.

At some point, I felt myself get picked up and carried over to someplace else in the camp. I was gently placed on the ground, and I heard men speaking. The tears continued to fall from my eyes. After a few heated words from the men around me, one of them kneeled down next to me and placed his hands on my shoulders.

The weight of despair suddenly rose from inside me and I sat up in time to see a blonde-haired man collapse. A woman was suddenly inches from my face.

"You owe my brother your life," she said through clenched teeth. It was the same woman that had taken Val upstairs in the tavern, Alana, if I remembered correctly. She stalked off with a furious stride. Another man helped me to my feet and led me over to a small canopy covered area in the camp.

Two of the barbarian men came up to me with food and a tankard of ale. I only ate a few bites; I just didn't have an appetite. The two men made me continue eating until half the plate was gone. I discovered through the conversation that one was of the hawk tribe and the other was of the bear tribe.

I had to admit that now that I'd eaten, I felt much better. However, the scar on my abdomen, from Vecna, was still there. I'm not sure how the argument started, but soon they were fighting over whose alcohol brew was the better.

"I have a suggestion."

"What is it?"

"How about you both bring me half a cup of your brew, and I will decide which is better?" Before I could say anything else they were both off. Several minutes passed and they came back with cups of their brew, and each also had a cup of water.

They placed all four cups before me. Now I had to try and decide which to drink first. I took a few gulps of the Hawk's brew, and it went down smoothly. I drank from the glass of water, wanting to make sure I cleansed my taste buds before I tried the Bear's brew. It had a taste of very strong ale to it. I gulped down half of the drink, took a few breaths as the alcohol burned down my throat, and downed the rest. I drank from the second glass of water and drank the rest of the Hawk's brew.

The next thing I remember is the cold water as I was dunked into a stream. Thoroughly soaked, the two barbarians wrapped a blanket around me and stood on either side of me as I shivered. Their hands rubbed my skin attempting to warm me. At some point the harmless rubbing turned into something much more pleasant.

It reminded me of my dream with the Satyr. My body responded in ways that were foreign to me. I was suddenly very warm. Their hands roamed over me, making my breath catch in my throat.

Before I knew what was happening, the blanket and my remaining wet clothes were on the ground and I was being assaulted by several feelings at once. I remember some pain, as both men did things to me. I had lost track of who was where. They both suckled on my neck and earlobes, making me moan quietly with newfound pleasure.

There hands were everywhere; burning every inch of my skin and making me feel as though I were going to burst into flames from this sweet torture. I let the last of my mental barriers fall as I surrendered my body to their attentions. Next thing I knew, I was in front of the Hawk, being held up as he attentions continued to assault me.

His caresses overloaded my senses as I felt an ecstasy like nothing I'd ever known before. He went to put me down, and my legs collapsed from under me. The Bear caught me from behind before I could fall.

I stood there, held up, gasping for air, and coming down from where I felt as though I'd soared through the skies. I don't remember dressing, but I remember being led by both men, back toward the barbarian encampment, one bracelet donning each wrist. They each held one of my hands as they led me toward a tent.

"It's time to get ready."

"Ready for what?" I asked.

"Ready for the wedding ceremony," I heard a female voice from inside the tent. As we entered I saw two women.

"These are our sisters," the hawk told me, "they will prepare you for the wedding."

"Who's getting married?" I said, extremely confused. The two men said nothing as they left the tent.

"You're friend Valindal is marrying the princess."

"She's the princess?" I said in shock.

"Yes," one of the women said as she started painting my left arm with Bears, "I am Kylina, sister of Thiran." Her tan skin looked almost black next to mine and her black hair contrasted it sharply. Her deep blue eyes seemed to hold the knowledge of the ages within their depths.

"And I am Oliande, sister of Lyren from the Hawks," the other women said as she painted Hawks on my right arm. Her hair was a chestnut brown and swept down to her shoulders, while her eyes, a startling gray color moved about quickly, taking me in.

"Why are you painting my arms?"

"Both tribes have attempted to claim you, until the decision is made you will wear designs from both," said Kylina. They continued to paint my arms all the way up to my shoulders. Then they stripped me of my still wet clothes and dressed me in a beaded dress. Their hands swept through my hair as they unbraided it from around my head and braided it down my back instead.

"You are ready," Oliande said as she tied my hair. The women led me from the tent towards a rather large building. It looked like a meeting hall. Oliande led me to the front and sat me in the first row of benches to the left. People stared curiously at me as I passed them, more than one pair of eyes darting to the bracelets on my wrists.

As I sat, I looked around. There were a lot of people in here, and it appeared I was sitting with the Hawk clan, judging from the feathers and talons many people were wearing. I looked to the other side and saw others in bear furs, some with claws hanging from various body parts.

I saw Rowe and Marius enter behind some of the Hawks and sit further towards the back. After several minutes Val came in and was looking very nervous as he went and stood in front of the man I assume was chief. Everyone got quiet as he took his place, and the doors opened. There stood the blonde woman, Alana.

The ceremony went quickly until the chief asked if anyone objected to their marriage. A dark-haired elf stormed in. He looked vaguely familiar.

"I object to this wedding." Val looked at the man in shock. I took a closer look at him, and it dawned on me who he was.

"Celahir," I whispered to myself. My brother had just crashed my party-mate's wedding. There was something going on here that I didn't understand. The chief took his daughter, my brother, and Val outside and almost ten minutes passed.

They came back in, all looking much calmer then before, and marched right up to the front of the building. Again, the chief asked if anyone objected to the wedding of these three. Wait a minute…three?! That meant, but no that couldn't be, and as I looked into my brother's eyes I knew it was true. He had been the prince's lover; that was why he'd been cast out.

Thankfully my older brother took no notice of me. I much preferred it that way. The rest of the wedding flew by and before I knew it the three of them were leaving. I stood along with everyone else, and as I did the bracelet that Lyren had placed on my wrist began to shimmer. What on Corellean's green earth? I would ask him about it later.

I was led outside by the Hawks I had been sitting next too. Lyren was next to me in an instant, dragging over towards Thiran. As we went, he pulled the bear's bracelet off my wrist. I tried to protest but he hushed me.

"You'll need this again, I think," Lyren said tossing the bracelet at Thiran. He looked stunned.

"But," he started to say and stopped. He gave a resigned sigh, "Congratulations." Lyren led me off again, this time towards a large table piled with food. He piled high a plate and then pulled me off to a rather quiet corner.

"Would you tell me what all that was about?"

"Eat first, then I'll explain," he said shoving the plate into my hands.

"No," I said annoyed, and put the plate on the ground in front of me. "Explain first and then I'll decide whether I want to eat or not. Why did your bracelet shimmer, and why did you give Thiran back the other one?"

"The bracelet on your wrist shimmered, because you have conceived." I shot him a look of blatant disbelief. He placed the plate back in my hands, I put it back down. I glanced over toward Marius and Rowe, who were giving me amused smiles. I looked at the ground, appearing to be suddenly fascinated with the dirt.

"Are you alright?" Lyren placed his fingers under my chin and lifted my face. I didn't look at him, how could I? My father was going to beat me when he found out what I'd done.

"I'm fine," I mumbled.

"Eluare, look at me," he said softly. "Don't be afraid." I grudgingly looked at him. I was going to be in so much trouble.

"So, brother, when's she getting branded?" I heard a man say.

"Wait, branded," I said, now getting a little panicked, "you didn't say anything about being branded."

"Akos, go before you do anymore harm."

"Of course, brother, so sorry to disturb you," he said with a chuckle.

"As for the branding," Lyren said looking back at me, "You now carry a child of the hawk inside you. That makes you a Hawk and thus you need to be branded."

"It's going to hurt, isn't it?"

"Yes." Well, at least he's being honest with me. Suddenly I heard a screech above. I looked up, and there was Aronu toying with the Hawks flying around. I called to her, and she came.

"You have a beautiful bird."

"Her name is Aronu," I said, feeding her small bits of meat. She nipped my fingers lovingly. She was my one true friend in this world and she was a great judge of people's character. She hopped over to Lyren and nipped at him; his eyebrows rose in amusement.

"She's waiting for you to feed her." Without saying a word, he picked up a piece of venison and held it out to her. She gobbled it down and nipped his fingers again before hopping back over to me.

"What was that all about?"

"She has judged you as a fitting friend for me."

"Well, I'm glad to have her approval then." It was a relief to me as well. It wouldn't have been the first time Aronu had attacked someone for coming near me. Lyren picked a grape off the plate and held it towards me.

"What? I can feed myself."

"It's more fun this way," I could see the amusement in his eyes. I ate the grape just to humor him. I fed him a grape in turn. We ate until we were full.

"Now, about this branding," I said, "how much is it going to hurt?"

"You'll probably scream."

"Well then, let's get it over with." His eyes lit up in surprise.

"You're the first woman I've met who wants to just get it done. Usually women put it off as long as possible."

"Yes, well, if you remember, I'll be riding out in the morning. The more time tonight that it has to heal, the better off I am."

"Alright then, come with me." He took my hand and helped me up. He then led me towards a table that was concealed from the revelers. We were followed by two other men.

"Here, drink this," one of them said, shoving a vial of blue liquid in my hands.

"What is it?"

"It will help." I gulped it, and my skin felt all tingly.

"Where do you want the brand?" Lyren asked.

"On my lower back, to the right." He helped me onto the table and I lay on my stomach. I closed my eyes and felt Lyren take my hand as someone lifted the hem of my shirt. I prepared myself for the pain. My skin was still tingling from the potion.

"All right, it's done."

"That was it?" I asked, confused. I sat up and looked at Lyren with questioning eyes.

"That was it, Eluare. Now come." He led me back over to the camp where Val, Alana and my brother were all preparing to enter a small cabin. They all held hands, Val in the middle. Cheers came from the crowd as they went into the cabin.

"What was that all about?" I asked Lyren.

"They're going to consummate the marriage now. Most likely, they'll be in there all night." He took my hand again, and led me towards a group of trees. "Hold on to me."

"Why?"

"Just trust me." I wrapped my arms around his waist and held on tightly. Suddenly we were off the ground, my stomach now in my feet. We stopped in front of a tree house; I glanced around and noticed there were a lot of tree homes. Lyren led me inside.

It was nice and simple. There was a braided rug on the floor and a decent-sized mattress off to one side. He helped me from my armor and led me over to a west-facing window. Together we watched the sunset. It was glorious. I heard something at the door and walked over to open it. Aronu came hopping in.

"She doesn't leave you alone, does she?"

"Not if there's lodging to be had without many people around." Aronu spread her wings and flew over to a chair on the other side of the room. I led Lyren over near the bed and sat on the mattress. He sat next to me and took both my hands.

We stayed up talking most of the night, until I was so exhausted I couldn't help but sleep. He lay beside me, wrapping his arms around me and I fell into a dreamless sleep. The next thing I knew, he was gently shaking me awake.

"Eluare, come on," he said quietly. "We have to go down now." I opened my eyes and sat up. I didn't feel so well. He must have known by the look on my face because Lyren rapidly held a bucket out to me. I took it and lost my entire dinner.

"Are you alright?" I looked at him and nodded weakly. Lyren took the bucket without a word and handed me a glass of water. He led me out to the porch-like balcony. I looked at the ground and became light-headed.

"What is wrong with me this morning?" I whispered.

"There's nothing wrong with you, Eluare, you're pregnant." _Oh yeah_, I thought, _there was that_. "Take a sip, but don't swallow. Swirl it around in your mouth and spit it out." I did as he'd said. The taste of my vomit now gone, he put the glass down and held me close. I wrapped my arms around his waist once again and we flew down from the tree.

We walked silently over to the crowd gathering in front of the cabin. After several minutes the door swung open and Alana came out and held up the sheet. Cheers went up from the crowd.


End file.
